Baby survives Indonesian tsunami after being found in drain

Sleeping soundly in a makeshift crib, this two-month-old baby has become a symbol of hope amid the carnage of the Indonesian tsunami.

Sleeping soundly in a makeshift crib, this two-month-old baby has become a symbol of hope amid the carnage of the Indonesian tsunami.

The orphan - who was found in a storm drain - only suffered minor cuts and fluid on the lungs and was being treated at a desperately overrun hospital packed with survivors yesterday.

Most patients had to lie on bare floors at the tiny hospital in Pagai Utara and were exposed to rain because of gaping holes in the building's ceilings. Intravenous cords were strung from the rafters.

The death toll from the twin disasters of the tsunami and the eruption of Mount Merapi climbed above 400 with hundreds still missing.

The discovery of the baby followed the rescue of an 18-month-old who was found alive in a tree on Thursday.

Pagai Utara was one of the four main islands hit by the tsunami.

A frantic nurse at the hospital said: "We need doctors, specialists." As she spoke, a survivor named only as Sarifinus, 35, cradled five-year-old son Dimas who cried in agony as medics treated his broken arm.

When the towering waters came, Sarifinus grabbed his two other sons and ran - but the vicious storms tore the children from his arms and they vanished.

One of the hardest hit areas was the village of Pro Rogat on the island of Pagai Seatandug where 65 people died.

Survivors huddled under tarpaulins in torrential rain while others fled to the hills.

The village pastor lay dead on the ground, his corpse partly in a body bag. His grandson, Rio, said: "Everybody here is so sad."

Chilean Sebastian Carvallo, who was making a film in North Pagai, said three massive waves crashed into the house where he was staying. He added: "It shook the building to the foundations like it was going to collapse. It was noise and chaos.

"Everyone was screaming and when the wave hit the building you could only hear people praying. We just ran to the top of the building."

Hundreds of homes in about 20 villages were washed away by the tsunami. It was caused by the same fault line responsible for the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 that killed 230,000 people.

The Mount Merapi volcano, which erupted this week in central Java, began rumbling again yesterday, spewing out flames and ash.

But scientist Safari Dwiyono said: "If the energy continues to release little by little like this, it reduces the chances of having a big, powerful eruption."

People from the villages devastated by the volcano were crowded together last night in makeshift refugee camps.